Payday Helpers

Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin of Malaysia rises among the tough roster as he enters the quarter finals and semi-finals round of the Asian Junior Championships.

Malaysia’s contenders in the tournament looked to be in their top shape when they bested the last rounds in the men’s categories. Other than Zainuddin, Misbun Ramdan Misbun and Mohd Syawal Ismail both breezed through the quarter finals to successfully qualify for the semi-finals round, badminton rackets in hand. Their success was an important one for Malaysia, who has been falling short in sending successful contenders in the recent badminton tournaments. More so, it was the first time for Malaysia to have four players in the boys’ singles in the last eight international badminton tournaments to date.

After the wins, the victors are set to take on their equals for the semi-final and final rounds. Zainuddin will go against Ramdan. He is currently recovering after that tough against Thailand’s Pisit Poodchalat last month. Compared to his Thai opponent, Zainnudin was evidently running on a slower pace. Still, he won over Poodchalat in a 16-21, 21-13, and 21-12 victory.

Syawal on the other hand will be head to head against Houwei. All fingers are crossed for Syawal to conquer the betted Houwei for Malaysia to have another first by making it an all Malaysian win for this season.

Unfortunately, their fellow Malaysian Zulfadli Zulkifli was not able to deliver in the under 19 category. Zulkifli could not put up with the stamina of Tian Houwei, China’s top seed in the junior division. Zulkifli, nonetheless proved to be a tough competition. He delivered a close fight in the first round, ending in 21-23 to China’s favour. The second round yielded yet another close call disappointment, with a 16-12 score. Their clash took fifty two minutes, leaving the crowd in a breathtaking state.